Kenny Florian believes Michel Pereira has no one to blame but himself for being disqualified against Diego Sanchez.

Pereira and Sanchez collided this past Saturday night (Feb. 15). The bout served as UFC Rio Rancho’s co-main event. While Pereira appeared to have easily snagged rounds one and two, he made a costly mistake in the final frame. Pereira landed an illegal knee on a downed Sanchez. The “Nightmare” said he was unable to continue and the fight was called off. Sanchez was awarded the DQ win.

Some have accused Sanchez of milking his injuries because he knew he was down in the fight. Pereira has gone as far as to call Sanchez a “chicken.” Former UFC title contender Kenny Florian took to the Anik & Florian podcast to express his belief that Pereira needs to own up to his mistake.

“No matter what, Michel Pereira, you better not be angry about the situation and the decision,” Florian said of Michel Pereira’s DQ loss. “You’re the guy who threw the illegal knee, so you can’t be angry about it. That is your fault. Diego Sanchez, whether he’s taking advantage of a situation or not, it was an illegal blow, period to the head. And one of the hardest strikes you could throw is a knee, okay? So pretty brutal there.”

With the loss, Pereira now falls to 23-11. He went from riding a three-fight winning streak to dropping two in a row. Going into his bout with Sanchez, Pereira suffered a unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Tristan Connelly. The flashy welterweight hasn’t emerged victorious since May 2019.

As for Sanchez, he rebounds from his loss to Michael Chiesa back in July 2019. Questions still loom on whether or not Sanchez’s current camp situation is ideal. The “Nightmare” has defended his coach and said that the so-called experts are clueless about how they operate.

Do you agree with Kenny Florian on Michel Pereira being completely at fault for his DQ loss?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 2/18/2020.